Mom's feet, hand amputated to stop flesh-eating bacteria
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — A former Marine had her feet and right hand amputated Thursday in an effort to halt the effects of a flesh-eating bacteria.
Cindy Martinez, 34, of Dacula, Ga., has been through multiple surgeries since being diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis in May. She was fortunate Thursday; doctors thought they would have to remove some fingers on her left hand but did not, her husband, David Martinez, wrote on their Facebook page.
The two met in the Marine Corps at Parris Island, S.C., when both were 19 years old. They've been married for 13 years and have a 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter.
Cindy Martinez hasn't seen her children since she was hospitalized.
"It's a lot for my wife, for Cindy," David Martinez, 33, said about two weeks ago. "I explained everything to her; she was just in shock. She thought she was going to come home in a few days."
Doctors at Gwinnett Medical Center here aren't sure how Martinez contracted one strain of a variety of dangerous bacteria that can cause the infection. She was admitted to the hospital May 25 with severe shoulder pain.
Aimee Copeland, 26, of Snellville, Ga., went through similar surgeries in May 2012 when she was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis after becoming injured in a zip-line accident over the Little Tallapoosa River in Carrollton, Ga. When the zip line broke, she plunged into the river and got a gash on her leg.
Doctors believe that the Aeromonas hydrophila bacteria, which ultimately resulted in the amputation of parts of all of Copeland's limbs, entered her body through the cut.
The most common bacteria that causes necrotizing fasciitis, A streptococcus, is a more virulent version of the bacteria that causes strep throat. Eighty-eight cases linked to A streptococcus bacteria were reported to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2013, the most recent information available. The number of deaths was not reported.
Doctors haven't said what variety of bacteria is causing Cindy Martinez's infection.
Her husband, a police officer, has taken leave from his job to care for his wife and children. Friends have established a GoFundMe page, which had raised nearly $70,000 Thursday evening, and are sponsoring a raffle July 18 at Hebron Baptist Church in Dacula to help with the family's expenses.
Flesh-eating bacteria and fungi
Several flesh-eating organisms are common in nature, but the infections they cause are rare in humans. To cause a problem, they generally enter the body through a break in the skin, such as a cut, scrape, burn, insect bite or puncture wound and often strike people whose immune systems are vulnerable.
• Necrotizing cutaneous mucormycosis. More than one type of fungus can cause this skin infection, but the most common is Rhizopus arrhizus (oryzae). A cluster of cases, including five deaths, happened among residents injured in a May 2011 tornado in Joplin, Mo.
• Necrotizing fasciitis. More than one type of bacteria can cause this skin infection, but Astreptococcus is the most common. In May 2012, this necrotizing fasciitis from Aeromonas hydrophila bacteria forced doctors to amputate portions of all four of Aimee Copeland's limbs. The Snellville, Ga., native was injured when a zip line that she was riding broke and plunged her into the Little Tallapoosa River, giving her a gash on her leg.
• Vibriosis.Vibrio vulnificus bacteria that live in coastal waters cause this type of infection. It is often associated with deaths from eating raw oysters that can carry the bacteria, but it also thrives in brackish water and can infect a person through a break in the skin.
Source: USA TODAY research